Troublesome Prepwork
by xlilyunyun
Summary: Hi; I'm Shikamaru Nara. I've finally mustered up enough courage to propose to Temari. Was it the biggest mistake in my life? Can I even make it past the wedding? Well, I just hope that her brothers don't kill me. ShikaxTema
1. Will you?

**Author's Note:**

**T****his is my first fanfiction so don't hate me or the story. **

**Read and review please. **

**Oh yeah. I don't own Naruto.**

Shikamaru and Temari were on their favorite hill, watching clouds, on top of Temari's old and tattered quilt. Shikamaru was happy to relax tonight from the stressful work of being the Hokage's chief advisor. Temari insisted on two things being done before they got married. Shikamaru had to become a Jounin and the chief advisor. It was troublesome, but he really wanted Temari so he ended up taking the Jounin exam and passed on his first try. In order to fulfill being the chief advisor, he was practically on his knees begging Naruto to let him have the position.

"_Please, Hokage-sama. Let me by your chief advisor. I have to be or else Temari-chan will never marry me!" Shikamaru pleaded, tears forming around his eyes._

"_He must want the job. What's up with this stuff about Temari? Well, he's smart when he wants to be and a good friend. Sure, why not? But I'll make him beg some more," Naruto thought to himself._

"_Shikamaru-chan, asking for the position is asking for troublesome work. I was thinking of giving the position to Sakura-chan first," Naruto warned Shikamaru._

_Shikamaru dropped to his knee and begged once more. "Please, Hokage-sama. I need the position, troublesome work and all. Please."_

"_Okay," Naruto said and grinning a large smile, "You might wanna wash your face before letting Temari see you. Oh yeah. Be here at 9 tomorrow morning."_

Shikamaru faced his fiancé-to-be. He wondered is she would remember his birthday the next day. Naruto had given him the day off because he had remembered. If Naruto could remember, Temari hopefully could, too. He was hoping to propose to her tomorrow. Earlier that day, Temari had gone shopping with Ino, Sakura, and Hinata for clothes, jewelry, and whatever troublesome things they wanted with his money of course. He obviously didn't know what kind of ring she wanted so he had called them ahead of time to make sure they took her to a jewelry store. Shikamaru found out that she had liked a ring with some kind of special gem found only in the Suna mines. It came with a beautiful necklace with eh same type of gem embedded in it. He went to the store to buy them while Temari talked with his mother. The two purple boxes were hidden in the second drawer of his messy desk.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Shikamaru woke up to the smell of oatmeal, his new favorite breakfast that Temari had brought from Suna and a quick kiss form Temari. He realized that it was his birthday and the day he would finally propose to Temari.

"Happy birthday, Lazy," she said before exiting the room.

He dressed in his casual clothes; black cargo pants and a dark green t-shirt. He could easily fit the two boxes in one of the many pockets of his pants. The birthday boy made his way downstairs where Temari had put a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice in front of his chair which was painted light blue 

with puffy white clouds drifting across the chair. Shikamaru noticed that Temari was packing sushi, another one of his favorites, into a picnic basket along with his favorite tea.

"We are gonna spend the afternoon on the hill you love so much," the blond ninja said.

"It's the perfect place to propose and take a nap," Shikamaru thought, smiling to himself.

He went to go brush his teeth and comb his hair, and they both walked hand in hand to their hill. Shikamaru checked his pockets to see if the purple boxes were where they were supposed to be. Temari noticed this and asked if he was missing something. He replied with an honest smile and that all he needed today was her and some clouds. They finally reached the hill and started unpacking and eating. After the couple finished cleaning up the mess they had made, they laid on their backs, arms around each other, looking at the clouds.

"Temari-chan, do you love me?"

"Of course I do. Why?"

He got up from where they were laying, pulling her up as well while he dug into his pocket for the smaller box.

"Then," he started, kneeling on one knee, "will you marry me?"

Temari looked at the lazy ninja before her, holding out a ring.

"Of course, I will," she said, kissing him, causing them to both roll down the hill.

They ran back up, laughing and smiling at each other. At the top, he took her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger. They fell asleep in each other's arms watching the clouds drift on by.

Shikamaru amazingly woke up before his fiancé and took out the necklace in the box and clasped it around her neck, smirking to himself. He, then, went back to watching the clouds.

**Thanks for reading! R & R! xlilyunyun**


	2. Meet the Bro's

**Author's Note:**

**Here's the second chapter.**

**Sorry for making the chapters so short.**

**Oh yeah. I don't own Naruto. :**

"What?!" Shikamaru shrieked, choking on his oatmeal.

"It's time for you to meet the family," Temari said calmly, continuing what she had been doing.

Shikamaru was tying to come up with an excuse not to. "I'm a Leaf shinobi. I can't leave the village without the Hokage's permission."

"No worries, Shika. I cleared it with Naruto-chan. We are leaving for a week."

"Ummmmm… We don't have any money! There are a lot of missions to be done."

"Psh, like you wanna do missions. We have been given a free trip to Suna by the Kazekage, my brother, Gaara. As I said earlier, I cleared it by Naruto-chan. You don't have to do any missions for a week. You have a _vacation_. Haven't you wanted one since you got out of the Academy?" Temari told Shikamaru with her hands on her hips giving him a death glare.

Five hours later, Shikamaru and Temari were sitting on an airplane waiting to land. Temari couldn't sit still because she was so eager to get home and see her family. Shikamaru watched the clouds passing by him out the window. He was listening to his iPod, thinking of a strategy to surprise his brother-in-laws. After ten minutes, the lazy genius knew exactly what to do, and the airplane had landed in Suna. They gathered their luggage which wasn't much since Temari had mailed a box with their clothes in it a few days earlier. They walked out the airport, and Temari called a limo.

"Woah," Shikamaru said in a loud whisper.

"What? Did you expect the Sand Princess and his fiancé to get a taxi? We are _royalty_ in Suna. Get used to it, Lazy," Temari informed him.

Twenty minutes passed and they finally arrived hand-in-hand in front of the Kazekage, Gaara, and Suna's chief advisor, Kankuro.

"What's up, bro's?" Shikamaru said loudly and lazily.

"WHAT?!" Gaara and Kankuro yelled together.

"Temari, he didn't… Did he? Oh, God. SAVE US ALL!!" Kankuro yelled louder than before while dropping to his knees.

Gaara, the calm one, asked, "Shikamaru-chan, did you or did you not ask my sister for her hand in marriage?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama, I did," the nervous and lazy ninja replied.

"Kankuro, get up. You look like an idiot. Anyway, as long as Temari's happy, I give my approval," Gaara said, keeping a straight face.

"Thanks, Gaara!" Temari exclaimed, hugging an uncomfortable Kazekage, "When will you announce it?"

"Announce it?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Yeah. Since I'm like the Sand Princess, I want him to announce it before the wedding and make it official."

"Tomorrow, if you wish," Gaara said, "Chief advisor, send out a notice to every family to meet in the announcement arena at 3 pm tomorrow."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kankuro said before running inside the mansion.

"Just one question, can I see your ring, Temari-chan?"Gaara asked quietly. Temari held out her hand to show him. Gaara frowned and drew sand from his gourd. Shikamaru panicked as he anticipating what Gaara would do. Gaara used the sand to cover the ring on Temari's finger. He used great concentration as he rubbed the sand quickly around the gem. Temari was surprised when she saw Gaara pull back the sand and saw her ring. She could see her reflection in the gem. Shikamaru was impressed by the red head ninja's skill. "Thanks again, Gaara!" Temari said before giving Gaara a hug and running into the mansion with Shikamaru.

Temari and Shikamaru were sitting in her room talking about the upcoming wedding. Shikamaru, of course, wanted a simple wedding with only a hundred or so of their closest friends and family. Temari amazingly agreed to that and started writing the guest list. "This is going to be really troublesome," Shikamaru whispered to himself.

**Thanks for reading! Please R & R! xlilyunyun**


	3. The Announcement

**Author's Note:**

**Helloz! It's me again.**

**Please review when you're done!**

**xlilyunyun**

Shikamaru laid on his back staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. So he decided to step outside of Temari's room where they were sleeping and get a glass of water or something. That was until Kankuro attacked.

"What have you done to my sister?" Kankuro said pinning Shikamaru to the wall with a lot of force.

"Do you really wanna know?" Shikamaru smirked not even trying to get out of Kankuro's grip.

"Yeah cuz if you hurt her physically or emotionally, me and Gaara will rip you to shreds!" Kankuro said a growing louder and louder with each word until he was a little too loud.

"I promise not to hurt her. You have my word. If anything, Temari's gonna hurt me with her fan," Shikamaru promised the older brother.

"What is going on out here?" Temari yelled as she walked out her door, "Let him go Kankuro. I'm going to tell Gaara." She stormed off toward Gaara's room and opened the door without knocking.

"Gaara! Kankuro is causing trouble again!" Gaara appeared out the door in his black pajamas and teddy bear. After Shikamaru started laughing at him, he threw the bear back in his room. "Kankuro, I thought you had promised me that you wouldn't interfere with Shikamaru and Temari. Put him down and meet me in my office."

Shikamaru hit the floor with a soft thud. Temari dragged him up and pulled him into their room. She gave him a quick kiss and gave him a mischievous smile. She placed her ear against her door and waiting until she heard the door to Gaara's office close. Temari silently opened her door and guided Shikamaru to Gaara's office door. She motioned to be very quiet and listen on the door. Shikamaru was an expert at being stealthy even better than Temari so he rolled his eyes but listened anyway.

"What were you thinking, Kankuro? Shikamaru is part of the family now. Do not mess around with Temari and his relationship. If you do, I will take away your title as chief advisor," Gaara warned and threatened Kankuro.

"Yes, Gaara," Kankuro said and started walking toward the door. On the other side of the door, Shikmaru and Temari ran for their room.

**THE NEXT MORNING**

Shikamaru and Temari got dressed and walked to the kitchen together. No one else was up yet so Temari decided to make breakfast. "Hey, Shika. Do you want pancakes or oatmeal?" Well, Shikamaru 

always had oatmeal and wanted to see if Temari could make anything other than it so he chose pancakes. Temari moved swiftly through the kitchen gathering all the ingredients she needed to make the batter. She mixed the batter and plopped the batter into the pan. Shikamaru watched speechless. Temari turned around and smirked at him. When the pancakes were done she placed two plates on the table with a jar of syrup. Shikamaru stared at the plate. "Okay. I watched her mak them the whole time. She couldn't have poisoned them. They're probably edible. I might as well try them," Shikamaru thought. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and eat!" Temari told her lazy fiancé. Shikamaru carefully pour the syrup onto the stack of pancakes, cut them into small pieces, and popped one into his mouth. "Oh my god. So you can make something other than oatmeal." For that last comment, he earned himself a whack on the head from her fan. Just then, Kankuro walked in and saw Shikamaru's pancakes. He dove for them, but Shikamaru was too fast and grabbed the plate away and stood up. "Sis, are you gonna make me pancakes?" Kankuro asked. "Psh. You wish. You woke up late so you don't get special pancakes. Shika here woke up early," Temari said to Kankuro. Shikamaru had already finished his pancakes by then so he picked up Temari's plate and utensils and took both of their settings to the sink. To Temari and Kankuro's surprise, Shikamaru started to wash the dishes. "Good to see that we have a polite house guest," Gaara said walking into the kitchen. Shikamaru was almost done with the dish and put them on the rack. He walked to his room to wash up. In the middle of when he was bushing his teeth, Temari walked in.

"I always make our meals. Can _you_ make anything edible?" she challenged.

"Yeah, I can," Shikamaru said with a mouth full of toothpaste, "To prove it, I'll make lunch."

"Wouldn't that be too _troublesome_ for you?" Temari questioned.

"Just take me shopping for ingredients and by lunchtime, I would have made you a decent lunch," Shikamaru replied.

"You're on. But you have to make it for me and my brother's. At least two out of the three of us have to like it. Oh yeah and Gaara's gonna make our wedding announcement today," Temari said.

So, the two walked to the supermarket which wasn't to far from their house. Shikamaru gathered what he needed and went to pay at the cash register. When the person saw Temari with Shikamaru, he told them that the food was free. Temari smiled at him and took Shikamaru's arm. They walked back to the house. Shika told Temari that she couldn't watch so she headed to the living room to watch some television. He moved into the kitchen and started to make lunch. The only thing he knew Temari liked that he could make was sushi. So he got some rice and put it on the bamboo rolling mat. He ripped open the package of dried seaweed and laid that on top of the rice. He got out a cutting board and knife to start with the avocado. He peeled it, mashed it up, and put that on the seaweed. He took the crab meat out of the package he got from the seafood section and sliced it up into long strips. The crab meat went on top of the avocado. Shikamaru attempted to roll the mat into a cylinder and cut it into little bite size pieces. He carefully placed all of them onto a plate with some soy sauce, wasabi, and fresh ginger and put them on the table.

"Temari, Kankuro, Gaara! Lunch is ready!" he yelled from the kitchen.

"This ought to be interesting," Temari said before stopping at the archway, "Woah."

Kankuro and Gaara walked in and stopped behind Temari. Shikamaru got out the chopsticks and put them on the table. "Come on. Let's eat. Then, we have to go to the announcement place," Shikamaru said. They all nodded and sat down to eat. Cautiously, the three siblings popped a piece of sushi into their mouths with Shikamaru supervising. Instantaneously, they grabbed the sushi and started stuffing their faces. Well, Temari and Kankuro did. Gaara calmly eat piece after piece, but it was obvious that he liked it from the smile on his face. Shikamaru had a few pieces and smirked at Temari. "Well, I think I won, Temari. I think all three out of three of you like it," Shikamaru said. After cleaning up the dishes and putting them away, the foursome got ready to go to the announcement arena. Kankuro and Shikamaru were in black suits. Temari was in a purple kimono where her engagement ring and necklace from her fiancé. Gaara was wearing his Hokage uniform. They got into the limo waiting for them out front and headed for the arena where Suna's people were already waiting. They walked into the center where a microphone and camera was. There was a huge movie screen on one side and speakers all around. The camera faced Gaara who announced, "People of Suna, you are gathered here today to hear of Temari and Shikamaru's engagement." The camera then moved on to Shikamaru and Temari. Temari was jumping up and down (just like Christina and Jackie), waving at the camera. Shikamaru was blushing beet red. Kankuro was just standing there looking bored.

**BACK AT THE HOUSE**

Temari decided that Gaara and Kankuro should take the day off. Gaara and Kankuro had to listen to her because she was their older sister. They were both happy to have the day off, but not so happy with what they would have to do with Temari and Shikamaru.

**Thanks for reading! Please R & R! xlilyunyun**


	4. Splash!

**Author's Note:**

**Hey! What's up?**

**I don't own Naruto, Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru, Ino, Kankuro, or any character.**

**Well, please read and review.**

**Thanks!**

Gaara and Kankuro came home under Temari's orders. Shikamaru was taking a nap on the couch. Kankuro went to sit on Shikamaru who pulled out a kunai right before he sat on him. "What the heck? I thought you were sleeping!" Kankuro said. "I was resting my eyes. I'm a shinobi. Shouldn't shinobi be aware of their surroundings at all times?" Shikamaru explained. Temari, who had watched the whole thing from just around the corner, was amazed with Shikamaru and now knew why he was a Jounin.

Shikamaru and Gaara were making small talk while Kankuro played with one of his small puppets. Temari had escaped to her and Shikamaru's room. "Hey, Shikmaru. Do you know why she told us to come home?" Gaara asked. "Yes, I do, but I don't plan on telling you or Kankuro. If I did your sister would hit me with her fan, and I hate it when she does that," Shikamaru replied. "Ta da!" Temari sang as she appeared from around the corner, "Shika-kun, stop checking me out. Kankuro and Gaara, both of you go get ready for swimming." "How about him?!" Kankuro said, pointing to Shikmaru accusingly. Shikmaru yawned and stood up, presenting his green and black swimming suit, and smirked. Kankuro rolled his eyes but headed toward his room. Gaara retreated to his room without a word the couple was left alone in the room, but Shikmaru still wondered where they would go swimming. The dirty blonde read his mind and told him about the swimming pool on the roof. "But this is the desert. Why do you have a pool?" Shikmaru wondered. Temari ignored him and yelled to Kankuro and Gaara, "HURRY UP AND GET DOWNSTAIRS!" Gaara was the first to arrive down the stairs followed by Kankuro. Gaara wore plain black swimming pants and Kankuro was in black and red. They all proceeded to the elevator which led directly to the roof. Shikamaru was amazed, yet again. The pool was shaped as a fan, obviously Temari's choice. Palm trees surrounded the pool. A bar was put onto one side of the pool and a row of beach chairs were lined up along the other side. Their towels were all ready put on the chairs. "Cannonball!!" Kankuro yelled wildly in mid air. Gaara walked to the stairs and took his time getting into the cool water. Temari ran to the diving board and approached the end. "WAHOOOOOOOOOO!!" she yelled as she dove gracefully into the water. Shikmaru just looked at the siblings in the pool who looked so carefree. "Get in, Shika!" Temari said. He put his signature smirk on and climbed to where Temari had been. Temari was thinking, "Oh my god." Kankuro and Gaara both put on smirks that could compete with their brother-in-law's. "THIS IS SO," Shikamaru jumped and landed with a small splash, "TROUBLESOME," he finished when he surfaced to the Sand siblings. He smirked again while he swam to Temari. "Ready to go yet?" he said. Temari nodded and started to walk out of the pool with Shikamaru until Kankuro grabbed his wrist and said, "Where the heck did you learn that?" "From my dad. We had a pool on the Nara property, and he thought of teaching me how. I was thinking what would happen if I was sent on a mission, ended up in a river or something, and died because I didn't know how to swim. So I let him teach me although it was really troublesome," Shikamaru replied to Kankuro. Temari silently 

moved to her chair and laid down for a nap. Her fiancé proceeded to teaching her brother how to dive and not do cannonballs all the time. While no one was looking, Gaara slipped into the house where he went to Temari's room to peek at the wedding guest list until a certain somebody walked in.

**Thanks for reading! Please R & R! xlilyunyun**


	5. Busted Gaara

**Author's Note: ****  
Hey! What's up?  
Here comes chapter 5!  
I don't owned Naruto or Gaara.  
Well, I left you at a cliffhanger so here goes.**

Gaara had sneaked into Temari and Shikamaru's room to take a peek at the wedding guest list until someone walked in on him. That someone was Kankuro. "What are you doing, man? If Temari or Shikamaru come in, you're screwed!" Little did they know that Temari and Shikamaru were coming down the hall right then. Shikamaru opened the door for Temari to walk in first, and they both started screaming at the same time. Gaara dropped the list and hid behind Kankuro. "Who knew that Shika could yell?" Kankuro whispered to the sand user behind him. When the yelling couple finally stopped, Gaara came out behind Kankuro, gave the list back to Temari, and walked out the door. Kankuro was left in the room with Shikamaru and Temari. Temari took two seconds to find her fan and start hitting him while Shikamaru held him with Shadow Possession. "I'm sorry, Temari! I was just looking for Gaara, and I found him in your room. It wasn't my fault," Kankuro explained. They both stopped and stared at each other. Temari stormed off to her Kazekage's office where Gaara was hiding while Shikamaru helped Kankuro recover. "Uh oh," Gaara said, hidden in his sand igloo, another one of his jutsus he developed just for 'Temari ambushes'. Temari figured that he was in that weird igloo thing so she started hitting it with her fan. After 10 minutes of pounding, she gave up and went to her room to find Shikamaru. Shikamaru was there holding out a cup of tea for her. She took in and sat down next to it. The next twenty minutes, she slowly drank her tea and Shikmaru took a nap.


	6. Bored to Death Temari

Temari sat in her purple beanbag chair twisting her ring around her left finger. She was starting to zone out. Last night was tiring. Coming all the way back from the Sand Village wore her out. She dragged her beanbag and put it outside on the lawn. Temari plopped down into the bag and watched the clouds float on by. Shikamaru was on another mission for the sixth. Suddenly, a huge dog jumped on top of her.

"What the ---"she started as Kiba appeared into view.

"You wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

"I'm practically married, dumb-mutt," Temari retorted, holding up her left hand. He turned around and ran back toward to training grounds. Deciding that the clouds were getting boring, she walked to the Hokage tower.

"Yo, Naruto. Got anything you need me to do?" she asked wanting something to do.

"Can you run down and get me a thing of ramen? I'm really hungry" Naruto replied.

"No, you're not!" Sakura yelled at him, storming into the room.

"You got a quick mission?" Temari asked, desperate to get something to do.

"Forget this," she mumbled when there wasn't a reply from Naruto or Sakura. She walked out of the tower and up the road to the mansion where Naruto and Hinata had just received ownership. She could hear Hinata's gentle instruction as she became into view.

"Hey, Hinata!" Temari said, trying to sound happy. Hinata studied her face.

"Looking for something to do because Shikamaru is gone?" she questioned with a sympathetic look on her face. Temari didn't answer but picked up Natsumi, Naruto and Hinata's daughter. Temari seemed like a tough, I will kick your butt kinda girl, but she was a sucker for kids.

"Yo, troublesome women," a lazy voice called out from the gate surrounding the mansion. Temari's head turning and a wide, toothy grin spread across her face.

"Thanks, Hinata!" she said enthusiastically.

"See you later, Natsumi," she cooed in a way that made Shikamaru raise an eyebrow. Temari ran to Shikamaru and embraced him in a tight hug. She held him out examining him and his wounds. She didn't expect him back in perfect condition because he was a ninja and of course, ninjas get hurt. It's in inevitable. Apparently, he'd already stopped by Sakura's office and got fixed up.

On the way home, Shikamaru asked what she'd had the whole time he was gone. Temari went on and on about what had happened from Kiba to Hinata. They stopped at their hill and watched the clouds float on by.

* * *

hey its me. i was wondering if i should do a shuffle one shot with shika and temari. what do you think? review. you know you want to! lol. :]


	7. Nara Ranch

"You wanna go?" Shikamaru asked Temari at the breakfast table. It was a Sunday morning neither of them had a mission.

"Where?" she asked, continuing to eat her oatmeal.

"The ranch," he replied.

"What ranch?" she though to herself as Shikamaru said, "Nara Ranch. Durr."

She took her fan and hit him on the head. She proceeded up the stairs to change out of her pajamas. After slipping on a pair of morn out jeans and a tight dark purple t-shirt, she hopped down the stairs.

"Eager, aren't we?" Shikamaru said, linking his hand with hers as he led her through the woods. Temari had never been to Nara Ranch before and didn't know what to expect. They finally reached an open field filled with about twenty deer.

"Hey, dad!" he called out to the open barn door to their left. Temari's father in law's head popped out along with the rest of his body a he walked over to the couple.

"So, you've brought her to the ranch. Huh, Shika?" his dad said with a smirk on his face. Shikamaru gave his dad a smile. Temari knew she was missing something the father-son pair shared, some kinda inside joke.

"Oh my god!!!!!!!" she screamed when a deer came up behind her. The deer had snuck up on her, and Temari obviously doesn't like it when anything or anyone sneaks up on her. Shikamaru and his dad shared a laugh and led her to the barn where they handed her a pail with some brown pellets in it. The pail had some holes in the bottom.

Seeing Temari's confused look, Shikamaru explained the device, "Even though they can eat all the grass they want, they need these nutrients. So just run through the field holding this bucket thing out. Food will fall out and the deer will eat it."

Shikamaru proceeded to take out the notebook he used to record data. Every feeding was recorded in it. He also took out the scientific notebook. The deer from the Nara family were the only type of deer that had a special mineral that could be extracted from their tiny horns. Sakura used it often to make various medicines and was running out. She had asked for some the last thime he was in agter another dangerous mission. After about 10 minutes, Temari had returned with an empty bucker and a triumphant smile on her face.

She smirked and said," How do you like that?"

Shikamaru explained how the mineral from the deer were extacted and asked her to roundup a few. She chose the one who sacared her earlier to start with. He carefully inserted the needle extracting the mineral with great care. When Shikamaru was done, she bottled the mineral up to give to Sauka on the way back home. They stopped by her office on the way back. As soon as Temari reached the house, she phoned her brothers: the annoying guy and monotone guy.

Ring….ring….ring…. "Hello?" a monotone voice answered.

"Hey, Gaara!" an excited sister said.

"How was your day?" the always polite brother asked after pulling the phone away from his ear from the outburst.

"You'll never guess what I did," she said without giving him time to answer," I went to the Nara Ranch!"

Temari continued to hold a conversation with Gaara and then Kankuro. Finally she hung up


	8. Perfect Dress

Temari had asked Ten Ten, who had just gotten married to Neji, to help her make her wedding elegant but not too girly-girly. Temari had attended Ten Ten's wedding which was exactly perfect. She pulled out the dress catalogue. Flopping onto her bed, she started to use sticky notes to mark the ones she liked. There were so many choices to make: veil or no veil, stapes or strapless, traditional white or lavender, long train or just barely brushing the floor, short sleeves or none at all. Her head was starting to explode when Shikamaru came in and lay on the bed next to her and started playing with her soft, dirty blonde hair. She finally made a list of all the things she wanted: a traditional white, strapless, sleeveless dress with a long veil that would flow down her back with her cascading hair. There would have to be a thin layer of lace at the top with lots of beaded designs around the chest all thee way down to her hip line where a satin or silk sash would be tied in a medium sized bow on her lower back. The bottom of the dress wouldn't be all long and troublesome, she had decided, but about a centimeter or so off the ground so she could show off her sparkly strappy heels. Luckily, Shikamaru had shot up about five or six inches from since she'd met him. She flipped a few pages and reached the portrait dresses. She and Shikamaru were hoping to get some portraits done the day before the wedding to hand and frame around the house. She had found a purple dress with thin straps, a modest neckline and length that she liked. All of the dresses could b fitted and tailored at Ino's shop. Ino was a close friend of Temari and Shikamaru. She had quit her ninja career to pen her shop instead and married Choji. Temari flipped through page by page evaluating each dress. Nope; too frilly. Just plain ugly. Shikamaru had fallen asleep next to her and snored lightly. Temari turned off the lamp and got under the covers with Shikamaru thinking about how lucky she was.


	9. Day With Ten Ten

The next day, Shikamaru was going to catch up with Ino and Choji like they did almost every Monday they had available. Although Ino had quit her ninja career, Choji and Shikamaru, who were both Jounin, were doing great with their careers. Choji mostly taught at the Academy where he could teach young, ambitious children. Temari had the whole day to herself. She texted Ten Ten to come over and help her. In twenty minutes she popped up at the door and the two girls went to Wedding Planning Headquarters. Temari showed her the two dresses: the white one and the purple one. Ten Ten agreed immediately. She could already picture Temari walking down the aisle in the white dress and her posing with Shikamaru in the purple. Ten Ten also told Temari that she could where the purple one during the reception banquet. Temari knew that Shikamaru liked it when she wore gold, not the shiny kind but a darkish warm yellow. Something about bringing out the color or something. Temari found another dress as she was flipping through. Ten Ten was looking in a different catalogue and had found a set of kimonos that could be customized with a family crest. Looking at the color selection, seeing a dark forest green (her favorite color on Shikamaru and herself) she marked the page with a sticky note. The ladies went through examples of invitations finally settling between two. One with forest green and dark purple with grapes in one corner and the other with just simple gold engraving and flowers at the top.

"Choose this one," Ten Ten insisted pushing the gold one toward Temari.

"It's too plain, Ten Ten. I like this one," Temari said pushing the purple and green one toward Ten Ten.

Temari had picked the purple and green one because it fit perfectly since the reception was going to be at a local winery (yes; they have wineries in Konaha). She could picture the winery already with the pretty strings of white lights draped across the ceiling. The next thing, they had to diecide on was the table covers, center pieces, chair covers, place setting and seating arrangements. The had decided to stick to a coloe pallete of lavender, dark purple, and forest green for almost verything in the wedding. Temari looked at her watch and saw that it was already six. Ten Ten needed to leace but promised to come over the next day. Temari look the next hour in bed thinking abut her ideal wedding.


	10. Who's Jason?

The next day Temari got a mission scroll from the sixth to do an escort mission with Shikamaru. Temari traded her fuzzy pajamas for a dark purple fighting dress and fishnets. She inspected her fan which she hadn't used for a while and decided it's okay. Hopefully, she wouldn't need to use it. Shikamaru was going to carry the camping supplies. Their escort mission would take two days. This is, if nothing g went wrong. They would travel through a thick forest. Amazingly, Temari could read a map and use a compass pretty well. That is if she didn't rip it to shreds first. The guy they would be escorting was going to his next job site. He was an important carpenter, and his company wasn't going to risk anything. Naruto thought this would be an easy mission so he was sending only Shikamaru and Temari knowing they were a pair of qualified ninja.

They went to the village gate. He looked like he was in his mid twenties (like Shikamaru and Temari) and wore torn up jeans with a buttoned up shirt with about 3 buttons at the top left open. Shikamaru did the introductions.

Jason, the carpenter, was looking at Temari funny until Shikamaru said," This is Temari, my fiancé."

His smile dropped. Shikamaru, Temari, and Jason started off into the woods heading northeast. Shikamaru started a friendly conversation with Jason. Apparently, he was gonna start his own carpentry company after he had gained enough experience in this one. Temari continued to walk in silence beside Jason. This was gonna be a long mission.


	11. Pinning to a Tree

The trio, Shikamaru, Temari, and Jason, finally reached the spot where Shikamaru had planned to stay the night. The sun was starting to set and the two ninja would have to set up the huge tent. Temari dropped the camping supplies Shikamaru had handed off to her that she had to carry most of the way.

"Tomorrow," she decided to herself, "Shika is gonna carry all this crap."

She started to clear a small area of all the twigs and rocks. She wasn't Ino, who always packed an inflatable air mattress (from what she'd heard from Shikamaru), but she cared whether or not she would wake up tomorrow all sore. When she finished, she got Shikamaru to set up the huge tent. They were all gonna sleep in sleeping bags. Shikamaru's was green and black; Jason's was light blue, and Temari's was purple and black obviously. Jason was attempting to start a fire to cook dinner. He was a great carpenter but couldn't light a fire to save his life.

"Oh my god," Temari said, snatching the two sticks. Applying chakra through her hands, she started the fire. When it started, she threw the two sticks in and turned on her heel.

The trio sat around the fire eating a dinner Temari had made. Temari never looked up from her bowl. Jason kept looking at Temari and Shikamaru glared at him with hatred. When they finished the guys stayed around the fire as Temari went to the river to bathe. After Shikamaru was sure she was out of hearing distance, he stood up, dragged Jason up with him, and pinned him against the closest tree.

"Stop looking at my fiancé like that," Shikamaru said low and threateningly.

"K, dude. You're scary," Jason said his voice slightly shaking.

Shikamaru threw him to the ground and went to get his stuff from his duffle bag. Jason sat there against the tree thinking about what he would do. He picked himself up and went to get his stuff and bathe down by the river.

When he reached the river, he found the couple making out. His foot snapped a twig, and they pulled apart immediately. Temari gather all their things and headed back to the tent leaving Shikamaru to watch over Jason.

When Jason started taking off his shirt, Shikamaru turned away. He lay down on his back and watched the stars.

"This is gonna be a long mission," he thought to himself.


	12. Mac & Cheese

Temari sighed. She and Shikamaru had just gotten back from the Hokage tower to give in the report. She stepped into the shower after taking off her nasty mud covered dress. The scent of the cherry blossom shampoo and body wash Sakura had given her along with the hot water instantly soothed her sore body. She heard two gentle knocks on the door.

"Hey, Temari. Are you okay? Steam is coming out of the bottom of the door. Did you fall asleep in there?" her fiancé said in a worried voice.

"I'm okay," she said turning off the shower handle. She stepped out of the shower, dried herself off, and slipped into her fuzzy pajamas. After opening the door completely to let in some fresh air and let the steam escape, she quickly blew-dried her thick dirty-blonde (not dirty cuz she just took a shower).

Shikamaru had already taken a shower in the other bathroom across the hall. He was in his dark green silk pajamas Temari had bought for him. She could tell by his face that he was exhausted so he sent him to their room. She made her way to the kitchen and started cooking.

Temari took out a box of pasta from the pantry and a bag of cheese from the fridge. She started to boil water in a pot on the stove. When it started to bubble, she dumped the little bowties into the water until they became soft enough. If it was left in too long, it would be all mushy and if it was left in not long enough, it would still be crunchy in the middle. She had spent a good amount of time thinking about this. Finally after dumping the macaroni into the colander in the sink, she melted the cheese. Temari dumped the whole bag of cheese in the pot. While it was melting, she found the breakfast tray Shikamaru's mother had given her. Apparently, Shikamaru loved breakfast in bed. Sure; macaroni and cheese wasn't breakfast, but it still counts as something. After mixing the completely melted cheese with the macaroni she dived the huge helping into two bowls: one for herself and one for Shikamaru. She poured some hot coffee she had made as soon as she had gotten home. She placed everything on the tray and headed upstairs to her sleeping fiancé.

The wonderful aroma of Shikamaru's favorite dish caused him to open his eyes. Temari had walked into the room. He propped himself up on his elbows while Temari adjusted a few pillows so he could sit up. After he got situated in a comfortable position, Temari placed the tray on his lap. She slipped her legs under the covers and grabbed her bowl and fork.

"What brought this on, Temari?" he asked before sticking another forkful (is that a word?) into his mouth.

"I just thought you deserved it," she replied finishing up her bowl. (She's a fast eater when it comes to macaroni and cheese.)

"Well, thanks," he said wiping his mouth before planting a kiss on his fiancé's cheek.


	13. Author's Note

Hello, ladies and gents who have been reading, "Troublesome Prepwork". If you're a gent, I think it's awesome that you're even reading my fanfiction.

I apologize for not updating in what seems like forever. No; I haven't forgotten about "Troublesome Prepwork". I've had just so many ideas, and I finally got around to writing, typing, and posting one of them.

Today, I realized that I had so many stories just handing out with so many loose ends that need to be tied and new string to be woven in. Pardon the metaphor. But I've decided that I want to try to update/work on one particular story until it's complete.

I don't know what to do with this story. All that's left is a few weeks of wedding planning chaos and the actual wedding itself. This is my very first fanfiction that I started, and it's pretty sad that I still haven't finished it.

I have set up a poll on my profile page, so if you want me to work on this story, "Troublesome Prepwork", before I move on to my other stories, please vote for it. I'll be checking the poll next week.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome and appreciated. Feel free to PM me or leave a review to my stories. I love comments with ideas to move the story along, funny jokes you want incorporated, and challenges like "work in the phrase: _________ into the next chapter". Those are always fun to read and do.

I do my best to listen to your comments and suggestions. Please take the time to vote on my poll. Thanks so much!

Lots of Love, Rachel :)


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